L'Oustalet Côtes-du-Rhône Blanc - 2020
The vintage

The 2020 vintage in Southern Rhône was favoured by very good weather conditions, it is a generous vintage, both in terms of quality and quantity. Not as hot as in 2019, this year was very windy, throughout the growing cycle, with light rainfalls. After a fairly mild winter (one single episode of frost was noted during the night of March 24, but only the early ripening plots were very slightly affected). The spring was radiant, quite warm and very windy, which allowed the soils to preserve their freshness. Flowering began on May 18, under very healthy conditions. The good weather continued in June, July and August, with plenty heat but lower temperatures than in 2019, cool and humid nights and wind which continued to blow, preserving the freshness of the vines and maintaining perfect sanitary conditions for the grapes. The harvest, which was fairly early, therefore began under these very good conditions on August 26 with the white Côtes-du-Rhône and continued until the end of September with the Mourvèdre. September was warm at the beginning of the month and then more temperate, offering idyllic harvest conditions and allowed each plot to be harvested at perfect maturity. The harvest was very healthy with beautiful juicy and very ripe grapes, reasonable alcohol levels, good acidity and already a great balance. Yields are slightly higher than 2019 and the first tastings predict a very nice vintage.

Location

Located on the fresh and light soils of Cairanne and Jonquières. The vineyard is situated between the rivers of Ouvèze and Aigues.

Terroir

Recent alluvial deposits of calcareous origin with variations according to the river path, clayey limestone.

Winemaking

The grapes are harvested early in the morning to benefit from the freshness of the night. After pressing, the juices are cold settled in order to remove suspended particles. The alcoholic fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks and lasts about 15 days, the temperatures are regulated at 16 ° C. The wines are then racked and aged in stainless steel tanks until bottling.